Greetings from the seaside

Put a smile on my face

Homemade ice cream

VANILLA ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup double cream
1 vanilla pod

In a bowl mix the sugar and the egg yolks. Slice the vanilla pod lengthway, split the pod open and scrape out the pulp onto the tip of your knife and transfer it to the milk. Gently heat the milk without letting it boil. Remove from the heat and slowly pour into the egg and sugar mix and whisk until it becomes a smooth paste. Return to the heat and remove before it boils. Strain through a sieve and leave to cool.
Whip the cream lightly and fold into the vanilla mixture. Set in a large container and put in the freezer. To stop ice crystals forming, remove every few hours and mix vigourously for a perfectly smooth ice cream.

Colour lovers: Dutch spring tulips

These colours are inspired by a bouquet of parrot tulips I have seen in combination with rosemary twigs. Unusual but great combination. colourlovers

Illustration

I made these illustrations a while ago and they were created with different coloured nail varnish. The house smelled like a beauty parlor for weeks but it was worth it.

Colour lovers: ice cream

This colour palette is the essence of spring with pastel shades like cherry blossom pink, primrose yellow, wisteria purple and magnolia. They are also sweet childhood memories in sugary shades that remind us of candy floss, marshmallows, bubble gum and lemonade and that makes them all the more tempting. colourlovers

Inspired by... religion

I have always been fascinated by religious items, anything from Virgin Mary statues, Byzantine iconography, holy water and rosary beads and it was a great source of inspiration when we found these religious charms in a monastery in Quebec which we then worked into chunky bracelets.

Vintage advert postcards

Charming vintage adverts from times before MAC OS and DTP.

Colour lovers: lemon denim

Indigo blue is a pigment historically extracted from plants and was mainly used for the production of denim cloth for blue jeans. Nearly all indigo produced today is synthetic.
"I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes." – Yves Saint-Laurent
Denim blues mixed with fluorescent yellow and grey has a great contemporary edge and I love the combination. colourlovers

Postcards from Lisbon

Souvenir from Lisbon.

Shop signage in Mozambique

Jewellery in Mozambique

A lot of the jewellery is made from natural materials like nuts, beans, seeds, shells and wood like rosewood, sandalwood or ebony.
Seed beads have played an important role as trade currency during the colonial period between Europe and Africa. Antique trade beads can still be found washed ashore in the sand at Ilha de Moçambique for example.